


Knowing.

by Renkocchi



Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-11
Updated: 2018-06-11
Packaged: 2019-05-21 04:36:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14908457
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Renkocchi/pseuds/Renkocchi
Summary: When Hiccup suddenly comes down with a cold, not even a month after taking on his role as Chief, Valka takes care of him, realising that she knows too little about him.





	Knowing.

Valka often found herself sank deep in a proud feeling when watching her son perform his chiefly duties. But that wasn't the only thing she was feeling. Regret and grief also filled her heart at most times. Mother and son had still been learning about each other, and Stoick's loss was still fresh in their minds. And she thought that, possibly, Hiccup was more grief stricken than her. The boy had only known his father. Stoick must have been his everything, and Valka often thought of that. She wasn't there for him, she'd never been there for him. It was only now dawning to her that, maybe, just maybe, she didn't make the right desicion that night twenty years before.   
"What's wrong, Mom?" Her son's voice made her snap out of her thoughts.  
"It's nothing. I was just admiring you." She lightly brushed her hand across his arm. "What a great leader you've become, son."  
Hiccup's face lit up and he lowered his eyes momentarily, only to raise them up again, and whisper a "Thanks." He stumbled a little as he was about to take another step, and his mother took a better look at him.  
"Are you okay? You look a little pale."  
"I'm, uh, yeah fine. I'm fine." Valka took no time to listen to his weak response and touched his forehead, soon removing her hand in surprise.  
"You're burning up!" She whispered, not quite sure herself as of how to react to that.  
"Me? N-no I'm fine!" Hiccup tried to fake a reassuring laugh for his mother, as she was about to say something, when they were interrupted by a villager who wanted the Chief's help. Hiccup hastily waved a goodbye to his mother before running off with an unstable pace.  
It was only when her son was brought to their house unconscious that she understood how wrong she was to let him go even though she knew he wasn't "fine". She should have known better. But well, she couldn't know better. She wasn't in her son's life until a couple of months back. Thinking about it now, she realized there were so many things she didn't know about him. Too many, actually.  
Valka stood over his bed, waiting for Gothi to come and check on him. His breathing was heavy and unsteady. She ruffled his hair gently, careful to not wake him up. She caressed his cheek. It was burning hot.  
"Oh Hiccup..." She whispered, just as his room's door opened slowly. A petite figure appeared, much shorter than average people. Gothi. The stick she was carrying was actually taller than the woman herself. She was followed by Gobber, Stoick's life-long friend and one of the few people who could translate Gothi's text. Valka took a few steps backwards and moved out of the woman's way.  
"How's the lad?" Gobber put a hand on Valka's shoulder. She didn't seem to notice.  
"They brought him back here unconscious. I knew he had a fever but I didn't stop him from continuing his work."  
"Well, he is the chief now. Stoick would've done the same. Besides, he wouldn't 've listened to you anyway." Gobber smiled "I don't know if he got the stubbornness from you or Stoick."  
"You're right." She sighed.  
Gothi began scribbling on the floor with her staff not long after.  
"Looks like he overworked 'imself. Rest is all he'll need but I dunno when he'll get better." At Gobber's words, Valka only lowered her head and whispered a "thank you", before Gobber showed himself and Gothi out, placing another comforting hand on her shoulder. He knew she was new to this and he knew it would be hard for her.  
Before long, Valka had settled on a wooden chair right next to the bed, holding her son's hand, occasionally stroking his hair, wiping sweat off his face with a clean rag, or whispering unintelligible things to him. Oh he was suffering, she could see that. She could feel that. Hiccup's face tensed up in his sleep more than once every five minutes, minutes that either seemed too fast to her or too slow. And all she could do was watch. And wait. *Some mother I am*, she thought, *I abandoned him and now that I'm here he's worked himself to exhaustion and I didn't even notice until it was too late.* She took his hand in hers, and he winced, before muttering a word that made her tense.  
"Dad..." he whispered, although his voice was barely even a whisper. "Dad please..." he took in a painful breath "Don't leave me..."  
And he went silent again.  
Valka felt her heart break. She felt a weight falling down on her shoulders and settling there, to haunt her forever.  
Of course. That was only normal wasn't it? The boy - now a man, wanted his father. He was the only parent he'd ever known, after all. And he'd lost him so suddenly, so abruptly. Just when he thought his family would be rebuilt, a vital part of it was lost.  
Valka tightened her grip around his palm. She opened her mouth half hearted and imitated Stoick's deep voice.  
"I'm here, son." She could tell it was a horrible imitation, however, Hiccup's face relaxed a little. The mother sighed.  
Toothless cooed, entering the room. Valka hadn't noticed him, she must have been too out of it. The black dragon tilted his head before placing it on the bed, next to Hiccup's head. He was laying there, but his eyes we focused on Valka, most of the time. She scratched his chin, ever so gently.  
"Stay with him for a while, will you, Toothless?" She smiled, somewhat weakly, and exited the room, leaving the dragon behind.  
Valka was by no means a weak person, both mentally and physically. But now, not even a month after she found her son and husband, not even a month after she lost her husband, she felt guilt crashing down on her. If she had stayed behind all those many years ago, and Stoick now left the world, Hiccup would grief, of course, but he'd know he'd still have his mother. Now, Valka must have seemed like a stranger to Hiccup.  
That's why he didn't rely on her. That's what she thought.  
Now, she gritted her teeth and held back the tears that were stinging her eyes, threatening to come out. She took a deep breath. She had to be strong. And she was. She could handle her son being sick. She could handle her guilt. She handled being away from her family for twenty years, this was mere child's play.  
So, with determination, she opened the door, and froze.  
Hiccup was wearing a pained expression, curled up in himself, grabbing his left leg, or at least, what remained of it. Toothless was cooing worryingly. She rushed at her son's side, gently touching his shoulder, too afraid to not hurt him any more.  
"Hiccup?! What's wrong, love?" She asked, even though she knew she'd get no answer.  
Someone barged inside the room.  
"Phantom pain." A female voice said. Astrid walked quickly towards the mother and son, stroking her boyfriend's hair, as he gasped and panted, seemingly unconsious, never letting go of his leg.  
"Phantom... pain?"  
"Yes, it happens sometimes. It's because of his lost leg." A sharp breath, and Hiccup fell silent once again, his now unmoving form filling Astrid's and Valka's eyes. "It doesn't last long..." the young woman wore a soft smile. "I heard he collapsed. I came as soon as I could, I was training the Auxiliary Riders."  
"It's okay, Astrid. He overworked himself, but he'll be okay."  
"Ah, I knew it." Her words were sharp. "He never told you did he?" She asked, calmly.  
"No. No, he didn't."  
"Typical Hiccup."  
"What do you mean?"  
Astrid let out a quiet laugh.  
"He never tells anyone when he's not feeling well. He never even tells anyone when he needs help at something."  
Valka looked at her while scratching Toothless' chin. Did he really do that? And if so, did that mean that her son didn't see her as a stranger?  
"And now that he's chief, it's gotten even worse. It's like he thinks he doesn't deserve time to rest or time to himself." Astrid sighed.  
"I know where he gets *that* from... Stoick was just like that, especially when he first inherited his father's title."  
The two of them took their discussion outside in order to not wake Hiccup up.  
"Hiccup's just careful around you... It's still new to him. At least that's what he told me." She coughed and imitated his voice, just as Valka had done before. "I can't risk screwing this up now that I've found her." She said, with a smile, transferring his words to her. 

They talked for a long while and, without even realising it, Astrid was putting off Valka's worries, one by one. And through her, the mother was learning more and more about her son.  
It wasn't that he didn't want her or that he didn't trust her. It was just Hiccup being Hiccup.  
By the end of the day, Hiccup's fever had fallen. Gothi demanded he stayed in bed for at least two more days, and so, those following days, Valka urged him to tell her about everything, from his phantom pains to his favourite meal. He found that rather amusing, if not somewhat reassuring.  
They agreed to get to know each other better. To strengthen their family's bond. Thats what they needed.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this little one-shot in a night. It was really fun to write and it helped me cope with my stress. I often think about how tough it's going to be for Hiccup and Valka to get to know each other as a mother and her child should. So this idea was always in my head. I'm glad I got to write it out. Excuse any typos and stuff, this was written at night after a long day and in my phone. 
> 
> Thank you for reading!! Comments and kudos are always appreciated!!


End file.
